Good product manager

Автор работы: Пользователь скрыл имя, 25 Марта 2013 в 12:55, доклад

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Good product managers know the market, the product, the product line and the
competition extremely well and operate from a strong basis of knowledge and
confidence. A good product manager is the CEO of the product. Good product managers
take full responsibility and measure themselves in terms of the success of the product.
They are responsible for right product/right time and all that entails.

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Good  Product  Manager,  
Bad  Product  Manager  
Good  product  managers  know  the  market,  the  product,  the  product  line  and  the  
competition  extremely  well  and  operate  from  a  strong  basis  of  knowledge  and  
confidence.  A  good  product  manager  is  the  CEO  of  the  product.  Good  product  managers  
take  full  responsibility  and  measure  themselves  in  terms  of  the  success  of  the  product.  
They  are  responsible  for  right  product/right  time  and  all  that  entails.  A  good  product  
manager  knows  the  context  going  in  (the  company,  our  revenue  funding,  competition,  
etc.),  and  they  take  responsibility  for  devising  and  executing  a  winning  plan  (no  
excuses).  
 
Bad  product  managers  have  lots  of  excuses.  Not  enough  funding,  the  engineering  
manager  is  an  idiot,  Microsoft  has  10  times  as  many  engineers  working  on  it,  I'm  
overworked,  I  don't  get  enough  direction.  [Netscape  CEO]  Barksdale  doesn't  make  these  
kinds  of  excuses  and  neither  should  the  CEO  of  a  product.  
 
Good  product  managers  don't  get  all  of  their  time  sucked  up  by  the  various  
organizations  that  must  work  together  to  deliver  right  product  right  time.  They  don't  
take  all  the  product  team  minutes,  they  don't  project  manage  the  various  functions;  they  
are  not  gophers  for  engineering.  They  are  not  part  of  the  product  team;  they  manage  the  
product  team.  Engineering  teams  don't  consider  Good  Product  Managers  a  "marketing  
resource."  Good  product  managers  are  the  marketing  counterparts  of  the  engineering  
manager.  Good  product  managers  crisply  define  the  target,  the  “what”  (as  opposed  to  
the  “how”)  and  manage  the  delivery  of  the  “what.”  Bad  product  managers  feel  best  
about  themselves  when  they  figure  out  “how”.  Good  product  managers  communicate  
crisply  to  engineering  in  writing  as  well  as  verbally.  Good  product  managers  don't  give  
direction  informally.  Good  product  managers  gather  information  informally.  
 
Good  product  managers  create  collateral,  FAQs,  presentations,  and  white  papers  that  
can  be  leveraged.  Bad  product  managers  complain  that  they  spend  all  day  answering  
questions  for  the  sales  force  and  are  swamped.  Good  product  managers  anticipate  the  
serious  product  flaws  and  build  real  solutions.  Bad  product  managers  put  out  fires  all  
day.  Good  product  managers  take  written  positions  on  important  issues  (competitive  
silver  bullets,  tough  architectural  choices,  tough  product  decisions,  markets  to  attack  or  
yield).  Bad  product  managers  voice  their  opinion  verbally  and  lament  that  the  “powers  
that  be”  won't  let  it  happen.  Once  bad  product  managers  fail,  they  point  out  that  they  
predicted  they  would  fail.  
 
Good  product  managers  focus  the  team  on  revenue  and  customers.  Bad  product  
managers  focus  team  on  how  many  features  Microsoft  is  building.  Good  product  
managers  define  good  products  that  can  be  executed  with  a  strong  effort.  Bad  product  
managers  define  good  products  that  can't  be  executed  or  let  engineering  build  whatever  
they  want  (i.e.  solve  the  hardest  problem).  

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Good  product  managers  think  in  terms  of  delivering  superior  value  to  the  market  place  
during  inbound  planning  and  achieving  market  share  and  revenue  goals  during  
outbound.  Bad  product  managers  get  very  confused  about  the  differences  amongst  
delivering  value,  matching  competitive  features,  pricing,  and  ubiquity.  Good  product  
managers  decompose  problems.  Bad  product  managers  combine  all  problems  into  one.  
 
Good  product  managers  think  about  the  story  they  want  written  by  the  press.  Bad  
product  managers  think  about  covering  every  feature  and  being  really  technically  
accurate  with  the  press.  Good  product  managers  ask  the  press  questions.  Bad  product  
managers  answer  any  press  question.  Good  product  managers  assume  press  and  
analyst  people  are  really  smart.  Bad  product  managers  assume  that  press  and  analysts  
are  dumb  because  they  don't  understand  the  difference  between  "push"  and  "simulated  
push."  
 
Good  product  managers  err  on  the  side  of  clarity  vs.  explaining  the  obvious.  Bad  
product  managers  never  explain  the  obvious.  Good  product  managers  define  their  job  
and  their  success.  Bad  product  managers  constantly  want  to  be  told  what  to  do.  
 
Good  product  managers  send  their  status  reports  in  on  time  every  week,  because  they  
are  disciplined.  Bad  product  managers  forget  to  send  in  their  status  reports  on  time,  
because  they  don't  value  discipline.  
 
 
Ben  Horowitz  
Director  of  Product  Management  
Summer  1996
 

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